I cleared my throat as she settled. “Ready?”
“Ready.”
“So, if you end up here, don’t struggle, that’ll only make their grip tighter, which isn’t what you want.” I placed my arm over her again, leaving just enough room for her to breathe. “What do you think you’re gonna do?”
She wriggled beneath me, weighing up her options, and then her elbow flew into my side as her legs pushed away from me.
A harsh groan slipped between my gritted teeth, but my arm stayed around her, stopping her from leaving. “Congratulations.” I panted. “You’ve just pissed off your attackerandshown them that you have no idea how to get out of this.” Her head fell back against my chest, hers rising and falling so fast it felt like a jackhammer against my arm. “How aren’t you on the floor right now? That hurtme.”
“I showed you before. Abs of steel.”
She pretended to gag, but all I did was hold her tighter.
“Think, Cora. How are you getting out of this?” I watched her eyes dart over every corner of the room, her mind wandering. “What part of you isn’t mine right now?”
She breathed against me for one count, two, before I felt her sneaker collide with my shin, jolting my arm away and letting her run, turning back to face me with a grin beaming with pride.
“Good.” I panted, wiping at my shin. “That was smart.”
“Thanks,” she chirped, her hands back on her hips. “Now what?”
I re-adjusted the pads on my hands, walking until I’m a few steps away from her. “Jabs.” I prepped my stance, readying myself. “Show me what you’ve got, Holland.”
Cora stretched her neck, shaking her hair from her face as she set up her feet, bouncing a little. All those nerves from before seeming to have vanished completely. She stole a breath before throwing her right fist into my left palm.
I hissed through my teeth, impressed by her strength. “Not bad.”
She jabbed my right pad, then the left again. “That’s what growing up in Camden will do to a girl.”
My feet dug into the floor. “So you’ve always known survival?”
She shrugged, readjusting her pads. “It was either survive or get stabbed. Simple choice, really.”
Her fists were flying at my hands, and only when she was panting did I step in.
“Breathe.” I nodded at her. “It’s not a race. You’ll just tire yourself out, and what use are you if you aren’t dangerous anymore?”
She scoffed between breaths. “I’m dangerous, okay?”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” I re-prepped my feet. “Now, strike the centre of my palm. The more controlled it is, the more focused you are, the more you’ll hurt them.”
“Okay.” She took on the tips, jumping on the spot before hauling back her right fist, as though she were aiming an arrow, her eyes trained on the centre of my palm. And only that. The outside world was irrelevant to her.
Which was exactly how I needed it to be for me to do this.
Without leaving any time for her to throw her punch, I lunged forward, using the element of surprise to hold her against me again, a mirror of how I’d captured her before. This time her breaths were panicked, ragged, meaning I’d won.
I made the arm around her chest firm, holding her closer to me. I dipped my mouth to her ear again, as her head angled on my chest, her scared eyes sinking into mine. “You got in your head again. And now you’re stuck.”
Those eyes narrowed. “Because you told me to focus. I wasn’t prepared—”
“And you think they’ll let you be prepared?” I shook my head. “Whoever wants you is counting on you not being prepared for what they have planned, Cora. So think.” My eyes didn’t stray from hers as my arm, ever so slightly, tightened, her pulse and mine practically dancing. “How are you surviving this?”
Before she could even think about attacking my shins again, I hooked my leg between hers, fully locking her against me. I saw that annoyance glitter through her eyes, to which I raised my brows, challenging her.
I watched the cogs turning behind her eyes then, thinking of every way she could save herself. I had no idea if she’d figure it out. But I had faith. If Cora was anything, she was smart. Sometimes very annoying and, honest to God, stubborn, but she was smart. And that little trait was what had me certain that if she ever wound up in this situation, she’d walk away unharmed.
The seconds ebbed by and she was still locked against me. And if she needed all the time in the world to figure it out, then I'd give her that. The more time we spent on this now, the more prepared she'll be should this actually— “This is useless.”
